Tag Archives: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I was walking down the toy aisle, and always stop in the see what is happening around the TMNT section. It is like the Little Engine That Could. Just when you think the latest gimmick is going to be the peg warmer, and kill the toy line, something new and exciting comes out. And when it is exciting and new, I am paying attention.

The exciting and new this time around was Usagi Yojimbo. I was so enamored with Usagi back in the 80s. He was like the Turtles, but different. And then they joined forces. A samurai rabbit hanging out with ninja turtles. Could there be a better team-up? I think not.

Well, the first one I saw was Usagi in his blue outfit. I grabbed him up, excited for this one figure. Looking at the back, I saw it was actually a line that included the 4 turtles in samurai armor as well. Exciting! Usagi is well articulated, for this line. Thankfully as well at the turtles, who tend to get the best articulation. He comes with two swords that can be kept in sheaths on his hip. This first head design features a scowling Usagi with his ears sticking up in the back.

Not featured on the box is a second version of Usagi wearing full armor. He comes with a new head that features more of a smirk. His ears are down against his head so he can wear the helmet.

And what a fine helmet it is. The face piece is combined with the helmet (something that is separate with the turtles), and has amazing details. Speaking of details, the outfit is so intricate and beautifully sculpted.

When you see the two side by side, it is clear that this is two completely different versions of the figure. No repainting this time around. It looks as though they only reused the feet, hands and swords. That is a great amount of new work for a line like this.

The 4 turtles use the same bodies with the fantastic sculpting on the armor. They have different colors on specific armor plates, belt, and knee pads that represent their color. This is a good reuse of a body, as they would have had similar armor for all samurai, and the color splashes really go a long way to change the look of each figure. And, since they do not have the same skin tone, that shows up a fair amount between the armor plates as well.

The big change comes with their helmets. Each Turtle comes with a unique helmet that has a change in side decoration, as well as the colored accent on top. They can wear no helmet, the helmet, or they can wear the faceplate as well. The four face plates are the same.

Each Turtle comes with a weapon that is somewhat similar to their original weapon(s), but changed a bit. They do not have any holders on their armor for this weapon. Too bad.

I really like this line of figures. There have been so many fun sub-themes of figures that have come out, and the line keeps pulling me back in. This is another set of figures that looks great on the display shelf together.

Click over to my Flickr account with the link in the sidebar to see more pictures ——->

Dire Beaver is the second of the four Dream Beavers to be released in the TMNT line. We met these freaky dudes back in season 3 of the show when the Turtles escaped New York to go to the farm. There was some pretty messed up stuff there, including these freaks!

Dire Beaver is a ‘repaint’ of Dark Beaver, who we saw quite a while ago. Since then, it didn’t seem likely that there would be any more beavers, and then Poof! There was Dire Beaver on the shelf.

For Dire Beaver, he is molded in purple. he has some highlights around, like the claws, tooth, nose, mouth, and eyes. He has a darker purple tummy with an exploding bomb on it. Can you say, “Demented Care Bears?”

I like these guys a lot. They don’t have the best articulation, but there are many in the line who lack there. They do have good movement in the shoulders and the legs, not to mention the ball jointed tail.

Two down, and two to go. Will we ever see Dread and Dave? Time will tell. I am not going to hold my breath for them, but I will be happy if we get them.

The stuff of nightmares. Dark Beaver is one of the four “Dream Beavers” that haunt people’s dreams and use their fear to gain power. Somewhere between a Carebear and Freddy Kruger, these guys are bad news.

The symbol on Dark Beaver’s stomach looks amazing. A white flame around a skull. This looks very close to the cartoon version.

They did manage to take away some of the ultra creepiness of the characters. These guys were really out there on the strange scale. A nice dark wash could really help him to look a little more like the cartoon version. He would need a little extra work around the face too.

Their size is made to fit into the packaging that sets the size. Unfortunately, that is something that has hindered this line from the first wave. They don’t want to make figures outside of the bubble pack size, so we get a generic size limit. The Dream Beavers are either really big (in the dream world), or regular size (in reality). It would have been really fun to see them come in two 2-Packs like we saw with the baby Turtles a while back.

I have seen a picture of Dire Beaver (Purple), but I haven’t seen it in person, or anyone who has actually found one in the wild. I will hold onto my excitement for getting more of the Dream Beavers until I see them, but it seems like four similar figures would be a natural choice for Playmates.

Overall, Dark Beaver is a good figure. He fits in well with the rest of the line, and a big red beaver with a skull on his stomach stands out in any collection. Anti-Carebears to you nightmares!

Fugitoid is a great little character. From the Dimension X line of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line. He is different looking from the other figures that have come out, and he really stands out on his own.

This is the standard version that come with white plastic. There is a secondary version that comes with the 4 Turtles, where they are all clad in chrome, including Fugitoid. As I am not a fan of the Turtles wearing all of that miss-fitting gear, I waited until I found the standard version of Fugitoid.

He has good articulation, and the big feet allow him to stand fairly well. He has ball joints on his hips and shoulders to allow for most poses you want. He also has elbow and knee twisting joints to allow for more movement.

Hanging with his new bro, Megatron… seconds before Megatron tries to kill him.

He was a lot of fun to play with and pose.

“So sorry guys. I didn’t mean to knock you all down.”

“I need to find a Cortana of my own.”

“You look strangely familiar, but yet so different.”

“I always wanted a robot like you!”

If you missed it before, here is my review of one of the Dimension X Turtles that I did not like.

Yeesh! I sure am glad I only grabbed one of these Dimension X figures. They are seriously weak! I decided to grab Raph. I am not sure what made me choose him over Leonardo, since he is usually my go-to trial figure.

These figures come with space gear, clearly for going into Dimension X. They are a standard figure with a new belt, and space gear (helmet, arm bands, hand things, and leg do-dads). They also come with futuristic weapons… or their same weapons with a tech flair to them.

The main problem lies in the execution of the Space Gear. Of course that is all there is to the gimmick of these figures, so that is pretty bad. The accessories are very bulky, and make the figure stand weird. The real problem is with the helmet. It just doesn’t fit. It seems like they used a body mold that is just too small to fit. In the pre-production photos, the heads are centered in the helmet, but in reality, the heads are way down low.

They used the Battle Shell version of the figures, which are a bit smaller than the original figures, and that could have played into the problems. If you look closely at the back shell, you can see the hinge. It doesn’t open, since the belt wraps all the way around.

Overall, not a good figure. The parts fall off easily, the figure stands weird, and he just looks off. It is best to save your money for some of the new figures coming up that look to be much better. There is also a big pack that comes with the Turtles in this gear, but it is chrome. It looks to have the same problem with a shiny package.

Napoleon Bonafrog was a hard guy to get a hold of. There are still season one figures warming the pegs, but it is rather impossible to get my hands on some of the newer guest characters. I am not fond of the previous season of TMNT, where the Turtles spent their time on the farm, and running around through the forest. There were some highlights, like the Vision Quest episode that gave us the Mystic Turtles. Mostly there was some really strange stuff, like the mutagen car that tried to eat Casey Jones. A few of the characters did stand out, and those made it to the shelves…presumably. I am still looking for the Dark Dream Beaver, but it looks like they are listed on the back of boxes, but coming out much more slowly. We end up with a lot of mixed story lines in waves. We got Dimension X (space suit) Turtles, while we are still waiting for figures from last season. So, things seem to be weird there.

Napoleon Bonafrog is a character that really stood out in the last season, since he was pretty much an homage to Napoleon Dynamite, and had him pegged to a T. The figure is a pretty good representation, but that does not mean he is perfect. Look-wise, he is great. He has the mannerisms, with the great face, the giant forearms, and the fantastic clothes that include his unicorn shirt that says “Happiness is Friends,” as well as his amazing fanny pack. Not to forget about his mud hat, that looks like a poop hat. He comes with one accessory, his “Razor-Sharp Spear.”

The articulation is a bit wonky. He has strange shoulder and hip joints that allow for swivel and pivot movement, to allow for some range of motion, but it is pretty robotic. There needed to be one more joint in the elbow and knee to really work well. He also has neck swivel, which is pretty standard with the secondary characters in the TMNT Playmates line.

Overall, I am glad I was able to find him, and add him to the collection. He is a bit of an odd figure, and that is a good thing. I would like to have seen more articulation in the figure for posing and photography, but a lot of these figures have been slight misses here, so you shouldn’t be too surprised.

I love the number of accessories these guys come with. Pizza in every box. Weapons galore. Don’t forget about the pets, Ice Cream Kitty and Spike. What a great set of Turtles and secondary characters. All of the figures come with a stand and a key chain. I had so much fun taking pictures of these guys that I had way more pictures than I wanted to post here. Check out the special album on my Flickr account for looks at the head swaps and more.

Leo comes with his standard head, along with scared face and Pizza Mask. Take off the pizza mask, and he has an unmasked face underneath. He also comes with his two Katana as well as a grappling hook. He also comes with a pizza box.

Splinter has his cane and katana blade.

Casey and Mikey come with so much fun stuff. Casey comes with all of his sports gear including two hockey gloves, two hockey sticks, a baseball bat, and his scary mask. He comes with a painted face alternate head with his bandana wrapped around his head. If you take off his mask, you get a clean face Casey. You also get a set of hands to allow Casey to walk around in his normal street clothes.

Donatello come with a bladed version of his bo staff, as well as a grimacing face, love face, two slices of pizza, a mutigen finder, and a mutigen storage tank.

The Krang comes with a Krang, and a Krang’s gun. When you remove the Krang’s suit jacket, it reveals the Krang painted on the torso underneath.

This Donnie is the same version as the full color version, but you can see through him. He comes with his staff, but is missing the rest of the accessories.

The Krang in the set is the same as the Krang that comes in the standard set, but really, you need more than one Krang. It is a must for more bad guys.

Raph comes with his grimace face (standard for Raph), as well as a startled face. He also comes with two sais, three throwing stars, two slices of pizza, and Spike (before he went and got giant and mean).

Anton Zeck is decked out in his pre-Beebop gear. Someday he will be an ugly pig, but not quite yet. He does not come with any accessories, but he sports his awesome see-through mohawk.

I really like how they are all slightly different shades of green with different colors for their shells. Even their pads and wraps differ.

Lots of good guys, some bad guys, and a lot of pint sized fun.

If you are looking for more pictures of these great figures, visit my TMNT Flickr Album Here. Click on my Flickr folder on the right menu bar for even more pictures.